Special Report – Veterans and HBOT
The unfortunate truth is that countless veterans, just like Simon, repeatedly battle suicidal thoughts. They struggle from their battle wounds and PTSD with each passing minute.
These brave souls protected our country, and it’s beyond time that we protect their future. Thankfully there is hope in HBOT.
Watch the 30 Minute Special Report
Veterans are at especially high risk for suicide due to the injuries they’ve endured and the horrific images they’ve seen. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) rank high among the reasons why veterans are choosing death over living. But there is hope for new beginnings. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is helping war veterans turn their lives around.
In this Special Report, Edward diGirolamo, host of the HBOT News Network, dives into HBOT and what the state of North Carolina is doing to help get veterans this life saving therapy. We hear from Melissa Spain, CEO of the Community Foundation of NC East, as she discusses their involvement to get NC Senate Bill 442 passed; a bill that has appropriated funds to provide HBOT to NC veterans who suffer from TBI and PTSD.
We are also greeted by Elena Schertz, Nurse Practitioner at Extivita-RTP in Durham, NC. Elena gives us a tour of their state-of-the-art clinic where soldiers are receiving HBOT. One of their veteran patients, Simon LeMay, agreed to share his story with us to help spread the hope that exists within the world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Meet a true American Hero, Simon LeMay, retired Sergeant Major with 25-years in the US Marine Corps. LeMay was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan five times during a ten year period. He lost his best friend in battle and witnessed horrific incidents of violence and injury among his Marine bothers. Although LeMay was blessed to avoid serious physical injury to himself, he did come home with an invisible wound of war.
IED exposures left him with a TBI and visions of war and death haunted him with PTSD. Simon turned to alcohol and pain pills to ease the emotional and physical pain, leading him down a dark tunnel of depression and suicidal thoughts that almost ended in demise.
After hearing about it from friends, his loving family talked him into trying hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help heal his brain injuries. LeMay received treatment at Extivita- RTP in Durham, NC and states after 20-30 treatments he started realizing that he was once again “starting to feel emotion,” with the sense of worthlessness disappearing and the suicidal ideation being no more.
“I started looking forward to the next day,” Simon exclaims.
Also included in this Special Report is a raw and personal interview with Cate, Simon’s wife. Today she is thrilled with Simon’s progress, even calling hyperbaric oxygen therapy “God sent.”
Guest
Organizations
For more information about the guest organizations featured in this special, please click on the links.
North Carolina Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Clinic
Extivita RTP
NC HBOT for Veterans Program
The Community Foundation of NC East
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Recent HBOT News
Clinical Trial – HBOT Global Functioning After Stroke
Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and death in North America and Europe. Up
to 30% of stroke survivors never recuperate completely and suffer from loss of function and
poor quality of life. To improve recovery after stroke, innovative interventions should be a
priority.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is an intermittent inhalation of 100% oxygen in a hyperbaric
chamber at a pressure higher than 1 absolute atmosphere (ATA). There is a growing body of
evidence that HBOT can enhance ability of brain to changes its structure (neuroplasticity) in
order to recover. Exercise program during HBOT can augment the effect. Although, recent
randomized controlled trials in patients with chronic brain injury showed promising results,
there are no studies demonstrating combine effect HBOT and exercise rehabilitation program on
stroke recovery.
The proposed study investigates feasibility, safety and efficacy of using a combination of
HBOT and exercise program to improve arm function recovery in chronic stroke patients. In
this pilot randomized control trial, investigators will compare the combination of HBOT and
the focused rehabilitation exercise program versus exercise program alone on recovery of arm
function in patients with chronic stroke.
Clinical Trial – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Acute Kidney Injury
Kidney injury is a serious complication of cardiac surgery that occurs in up to 30% of
patients and increases the risk of adverse outcomes. Kidney injury initiates when oxygen
supply to the kidney drops below levels that are needed for normal cellular function, causing
tissue oxygen deficiency (hypoxia), activation of the inflammatory cascade, and oxidative
stress. Together, these events further impair tissue oxygenation, culminating in impaired
kidney function due to cellular injury and death.
There are no effective therapies for kidney injury after cardiac surgery, but there is
evidence that recovery is possible if the processes of injury – i.e., impaired oxygen
delivery, increased inflammatory response, and oxidative stress – are ameliorated soon after
the onset of injury. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) – which entails the intermittent
inhalation of 100% oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber at a pressure higher than one absolute
atmosphere (> 760 mmHg) – has been shown to positively affect all of these processes (i.e.,
to improve tissue oxygenation, reduce inflammation, and reduce oxidative stress). Thus, we
hypothesized that HBOT will reduce the severity of kidney injury after cardiac surgery if it
is initiated soon after onset of injury. This hypothesis has not been tested in humans, but
is supported by animal studies.
In this first-in-human, unblinded, controlled pilot trial, 20 adult patients who develop
severe kidney injury soon after cardiac surgery will be randomized (after obtaining informed
consent from the patient or surrogate) to standard-of-care or early HBOT. Severe kidney
injury will be defined as a ≥30% drop in kidney function within 6 hours of surgery (as
determined by change in creatinine from before surgery to Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
admission). This degree of injury occurs in ~ 2% of patients and is associated with a 12-fold
increase in the risk of complete kidney failure (requiring dialysis) or death. Patients will
be excluded if they have any relative or absolute contraindications to HBOT (e.g., severe
ventricular dysfunction, ventricular assist device, severe respiratory dysfunction,
pneumothorax, bronchospasm).
Clinical Trial – HBOT Application in Erectile Dysfunction
Recent studies have shown that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can induce angiogenesis and
improve impaired organ function. HBOT was also recently suggested as a possible therapy for
ED due to surgical injuries. However, the effect of HBOT on non-surgical related ED has not
been investigated to date.
The objective in this study was to assess the effect of HBOT on patients with ED by means of
sexual function questionnaires and novel imaging techniques.